Farming Matters: Give British food the vote

Heather Jan Brunt

With the General Election creeping ever closer Michelin starred chef Tom Kerridge has teamed up with the NFU to ensure food and farming is part of the national debate.

Speaking from his Bucks pub The Hand and Flowers he said he wants everyone to get behind an online campaign to pledge their support at www.votebritishfood.com

He said: “I know that food grown close to home means top quality and freshness. And I am supporting my local farmers, which is key to a thriving food sector, We mustn’t take our homegrown food supply for granted.”

The NFU recently published a report that revealed the UK’s self sufficiency has declined dramatically over the past 30 years to 60%. The report states that if this decline continues only half the nation’s food will be produced on British farms in the next 25 years.

NFU deputy president Minette Batters said: “We know that food and farming is important to many people. Eight-five per cent have told us they think supermarkets should sell more food produced on British farms and 77% think government should focus more on creating policies that help UK farmers to increase the amount of food Britain produces.”

Ms Batters said urgent steps were needed to start increasing our self sufficiency, and that there is no overnight solution, this will require longterm investment.

She called on the government to play a role to ensure farmers can be confident about their future, to invest and grow their business. And she encouraged retailers to sell more British food whenever it is in season.